Illustration by Jillian Tamaki

With movie studios increasingly targeting the lowest common denominator in their marketing campaigns, it’s easy to forget there really was a time (not so long ago) when a decent movie trailer could feel like a cinematic event in its own right.

While today’s pre-feature teasers seem hell-bent on either appealing to the lowbrow or giving away entire plotlines, good promo clips of yore could pique your curiosity about a film, offer a playful commentary on what the movie would be about or, at the very least, scare the hell out of you.

Thankfully, the folks at IFC are on hand to remind us of how effective a truly artful trailer can be, and they’ve hunted down 50 of what they consider to be the greatest movie trailers of all time for our viewing pleasure.

While I was initially taken aback by some of their selections – believe me, this is the only time the craptacular Stephen King effort Maximum Overdrive will ever appear on a list of “Greatest” anything – after taking some time to enjoy the imaginative, weird treasures they’ve assembled, I think IFC’s choices are bang on. (Especially the top 2, which will completely blow your minds. Promise.)

But I’m curious to get your take, readers. Do you agree with the selections on IFC’s list? Are there any amazing trailers you feel were wrongfully overlooked?